


Riptide

by rise_from_the_bud



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bullying, Drarry, First Kiss, M/M, Nightmares, i cant think of more tags, so here, v e r y gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-06
Updated: 2018-03-06
Packaged: 2019-03-27 15:15:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rise_from_the_bud/pseuds/rise_from_the_bud
Summary: Like moths to a flame.





	Riptide

It’s the first day of eighth year, and Draco has already been punched in the stomach. He coughs and staggers over to Blaise. Pansy had decided not to come back to Hogwarts this year.   
Draco just wanted to get his NEWTS.   
Blaise looks at him sympathetically. “You’re being bullied?” he asks, noticing Draco clutching his stomach. Draco rolls his eyes.  
“Of course,” he snaps. “I was a fucking death eater, remember?”   
He runs his free hand through his slightly ruffled blond hair. They are almost at Hogwarts.  
His stomach isn’t hurting anymore, so he removes his hand.   
Shockingly, he hasn’t gone to ‘visit’ Harry. 

………………….

They are at Hogwarts. Draco is carrying his trunks into the carriage and slumping against the seat by himself. Blaise is going with another Slytherin.   
Surprisingly, a few minutes later, Harry and his friends are stepping into the carriage and see Draco.   
“Malfoy?” Harry says, surprised. Draco ignores him.   
“Do you mind if we sit here?” Hermione asks.   
Draco shakes his head, looking at the floor. They sits down. Harry is next to him, surprisingly. Draco ignores him, moving his head to look out the window. Harry is talking to his friends.   
Draco tunes them out, thinking about the upcoming year. He knows he’ll probably be bullied by the fifth and sixth years.   
He startles when someone pokes him. It’s Harry. “What?” Draco snaps.  
“We were just wondering if you were doing quidditch this year.” Harry looks nervous.   
“No, the fucking ministry won’t let me. They’re afraid that i’m going to ‘go crazy’ and cast some killing curses, etcetera, because you know, I’m a fucking dangerous death eater,” Draco snarls.   
Harry hesitates. “That’s not really fair.”  
“Of course it isn’t.” Draco looks away and back out the window. Several minutes later, they are arrived at Hogwarts. As soon as they stop, Draco has vanished, leaving Harry with his friends.   
“Well, he wasn’t very friendly,” Ron says.   
Hermione turns to look at him. “What were you expecting?”   
They bicker all the way into the Great Hall. Harry doesn’t say anything.   
There’s something different about the blonde. 

……………………

After the sorting, everyone sorted into Slytherin looks terrified. Especially of Draco. He’s left by himself, everyone keeping a sure distance from him. The only one willing to talk to him is Blaise.   
Professor McGonagall gestures for the eighth years to meet over with her. They all look uneasy, remembering the disastrous events that happened in this building. She clears her throat to get their attention.   
“Eighth years, I am urging you to put away your past house animosity because you are going to be rooming together. You will share a common room, and two people will be sharing a dorm. The assignments are posted in the common room. Any questions? No? I will show you to your dorms.” she finishes.  
Everyone is looking at the Slytherins nervously. No one wants to be roomed with them.   
Draco hopes he’s rooming with Blaise.   
Harry hopes to room with Ron.   
Hermione doesn’t care. As long as they let her study in peace, she’s happy with that.   
They reach the common room entrance. McGonagall stops to address them.   
“The password is ‘Exploding Snap.’” The portrait opens and they all enter the room.   
“The dorm assignments are over there.” she points to them and leaves as they are crowding around it. Hermione is with Millicent Bulstrode. She shrugs.   
Ron is with Neville. You can tell he is a bit disappointed not to be rooming with Harry, though.   
Harry, however, is roomed with one Draco Malfoy. He frowns, not expecting that. Draco strides over to him. His bags are levitating behind him.   
“Coming, Potter?” he says, venom missing from his tone. Harry glances at him and runs a hand through his messy hair. His glasses slide down his face and instead of pushing them back up, he scrunches up his nose. They slide up after a few tries.   
Oddly, Draco thinks that this is adorable. But he keeps it to himself.   
Harry hesitates, grabbing his wand to float his bags behind him. Draco notices that there is not much.   
“I’m coming,” he says.   
Draco opens up the door and coughs. Dust is floating around the room. He enters, and Harry follows. Harry puts his stuff down by the bed near the window. The contents are merely a bathroom, two beds and two desks. They are identical.   
He sighs and settles by the other bed. He spreads his stuff out. Harry is looking out the window. A funny expression is plastered on his face. They have a great view of the Quidditch pitch.   
Draco looks at him. He looks almost like he’s going to miss doing something.  
“Aren’t you doing Quidditch this year?” Draco asks finally.   
“Nope.” Harry shakes his head. “It would be unfair to other people that wanted to try for Seeker. We were not supposed to be here this year, anyway.”   
Draco turns away.   
“Oh.”   
Harry heads down to the common room to meet Ron. Draco stays in his bed.   
He falls asleep slowly, preparing himself for the official first day tomorrow.   
Harry comes in late at night. He spots Draco sleeping soundly and smiles.   
“I want to help you,” he whispers. He’s not sure where these feelings have come from. He plops into bed and doesn’t even bother to take off his clothes. 

…………  
The next morning, Draco wakes up before Harry. He gets changed in the bathroom. Harry wakes up while Draco is brushing his teeth.   
“Huh,” he mumbles. He gets out of bed, excited for the new day. He steps into the bathroom to take a quick shower to find Draco doing his hair.   
It looks different. Less stiff and more soft.   
He clears his throat.   
“Malfoy,” he says. “I need to take a shower.”   
Draco glances at him. “You know we have to be at breakfast in a half hour?” he asks coldly.   
Harry rolls his eyes. “Yes. Now hurry up.”   
Draco looks offended. Harry glares up at him.  
He doesn’t like to admit it, but Draco is taller than he is, and very much more intimidating.   
They have a staring match for a minutes before Draco gives in. He steps out of the bathroom.   
“Hurry up,” he snaps to Harry.   
The brunette sighs and closes the door behind him, locking it.   
Ten minutes later, Harry is stepping out of the bathroom, a towel around his waist.  
Draco yanks his gaze away from him and walks in the bathroom after he exits.   
Harry gets dressed quickly and is ready to go when Draco leaves the bathroom.   
“I’m going to breakfast,” he snaps and leaves the room, slamming the door behind him.  
Draco rolls his eyes and is following him.   
Harry can be dramatic when he wants.   
The eighth year has a new table dedicated to them to eat at. Harry is sitting next to Ron and Hermione at the other side of the table, chatting animatedly and shoving bacon in his mouth.   
However, Draco barely eats anything. He sips coffee, still not very awake. He slept deeply that night. Blaise is next to him.   
“Draco, you should eat something,” Blaise says, concerned. He knows about how Draco had been a bit depressed after his trial. He believes that he should be in Azkaban with his father.   
Draco shakes his head, looking over at Harry.  
“I’m not hungry.”   
Blaise wants to smack him, the stubborn git. “Draco, eat something. At least a piece of bacon.” Draco sighs but nods.  
He carefully eats a piece of bacon. Blaise sighs and takes a sip of his own coffee.   
It’s time for class a bit later. Harry has been watching Draco and noticed that he ate close to nothing. 

Harry checks their schedule. They have potions with Slughorn first.   
He groans. Potions is better without Snape, but still boring.  
Plus, he’s still bad at it.  
He stands up and leaves the hall, shooting a glance at Draco.  
Ron and Hermione follow him. 

 

…………….

 

Draco sinks into a chair in Potions. Soon after, Slughorn announces that they will have permanent potions partners for the rest of the year, starting today. He calls out names. Draco leans forward, waiting for his name. He just hopes he’s not with Neville.   
Soon- “Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter.” Is announced. Draco groans.   
He already has to be roommates with that handsome idiot(if he must admit). Harry sighs and moves his stuff over to Draco. He doesn’t look happy about the arrangement, either. Draco watches him run a hand through his dishevelled hair.   
“Don’t you own a brush, Potter?” Draco snaps. “Fuck off,” Harry grumbles.   
Draco raises an eyebrow. “Grumpy, are we?” Harry groans and hides his face in his hands. Draco sighs. Then slughorn begins speaking:   
“Today, we will be brewing Amortentia. Can anyone tell me what that is?”   
Hermione’s hand shoots up in the air. Draco rolls his eyes. Know-it-all.   
“Yes, Ms Granger?”   
“Amortentia is a powerful love potion and when you smell it, it smells like what you are most attracted to.”   
“Very good! Today, after you are done brewing, you will each smell it to find your deepest desire.”   
Harry sighs in frustration. “I hate potions,” he mumbles. Draco glares at him. Slughorn begins to write the instructions on the blackboard.  
Draco gets up to get the supplies for the potion. When he comes back, Harry is slumped over the desk. Draco pinches him. Harry yelps. “What was that for?” he snarls.   
Draco rolls his eyes. “Just start chopping the wormwood roots.”   
He starts slicing the other ingredients.  
Thirty minutes later, the potion is finished. Harry looks bored. Draco thinks the potion looks perfect.   
Slughorn wanders over to them. “That potion looks marvellous!” he says cheerfully.   
“Why don’t you two smell it now?” Harry shrugs.   
Draco nods. “That’s fine.”   
Draco leans over their vial. “It smells like…. Quidditch… Treacle tart… and sweat.” He sits back in his seat. ‘It smells like… Potter?’ he thinks. ‘Odd.’   
Harry leans over to smell it. “It smells like… citrus, hair gel… and fabric?” he stutters. Draco’s eyes widen. Is he smelling Draco?   
Harry’s eyes narrow. He can’t possibly be smelling Draco. He shakes it off and listens as they find out what it smells like to others. 

……………. 

After they leave Potions, a group of fifth year Ravenclaws come down the hallway, talking animatedly. The one in the lead narrows his eyes once he sees Draco.   
“Well, if it isn’t Malfoy,” he snarls. Draco looks at him, his eyes cold. “Need something?” he asks coldly.   
“You’re a Death Eater,” the boy snaps. “You deserve to rot in Azkaban.”   
“Fuck off,” Draco growls.   
“Now, that’s not very nice.” Draco stands stiffly.  
The boy kicks out, sending Draco’s book bag to the ground. His bottle of ink shatters and pools on the floor, drenching his books in the process.   
“Fuck.” Draco swears. Those books cost a fortune, and they took away all of the Malfoy’s money, claiming to “use it for better things, like St. Mungo’s.”   
“Fuck off,” a voice comes, from above him. Draco looks up, surprised.   
The boy is looking nervous. “What?” he stammers. Harry is standing behind above Draco, pointing his wand at them.   
“I said, fuck off. No one, not even a convicted Death Eater, deserves to be treated like that.”   
Harry’s voice comes out coldly.   
The Ravenclaw backs off, his hands up. “Chill out. I’m just messing with him.”  
Draco snorts. Yeah, right.  
“Just go.”   
A minute later, they are gone down the hallway. Harry bends down, his hair falling over his face.   
“Are you alright?” he asks reluctantly.   
“I’m fine.”   
It’s a lie.   
Harry points his wand at and repairs Draco’s schoolbook. Draco exhales. He shoves his things in his bag.  
“I need to go.” he hurries off, leaving Harry kneeling on the ground.   
He goes to their dorm and collapses on the bed. He’s breathing quickly.   
‘Malfoys don’t cry.. Malfoys don’t cry..’ he chants in his head.   
A tear escapes his eye.  
He knows. He knows he should be in Azkaban. If only damn Harry Potter hadn’t fucking testified for him. He doesn’t hear the door creak open behind him.   
Draco hides his face in his hands. He feels someone sits down on the bed next to him. He ignores Harry. He tries to take deep breaths. “Malfoys don’t cry,” he mumbles, almost inaudibly.   
A tentative hand reaches to rub his back. “Fuck off, Potter,” Draco whimpers.   
“No.” the voice is wavering.   
Draco sits up, glaring at Harry. “Fuck off.” he repeats. Harry moves back. “Fine. Have it your way, as always.” He steps out and slams the door behind him, leaving Draco alone.  
Draco lets his head tip forward onto the bed.   
“Fuck.” 

……………….

Harry stomps downstairs. “Malfoy is an arsehole,” he mutters. He stops halfway to the common room and slams his fist against the wall.  
“He’s an ungrateful bastard,” he mumbles.   
Harry hears footsteps behind him. He turns around, a foul look on his face.   
It’s Draco. He scowls at Draco. “Wha-” he snaps. Draco shuts him up quickly by kissing him fiercely.   
Harry moans and wraps his arms around Draco. Draco smiles against Harry’s lips and plays with Harry’s hair.   
Harry waits a few more moments before pulling away and running down the hallway. Draco begins to follow him but stops soon. He runs a hand through his hair, confused.   
“What?” he mumbles. He sinks down on the floor.   
Harry is long gone. 

………………………………

Harry is confused.   
“What just happened?” he mumbled. “Draco Malfoy… kissed me…?”   
‘And I liked it…’ He buries his face in his hands.   
He leans against the wall. He realizes he’s standing in front of the library.   
He remembers the soft feeling of Draco’s lips. He didn’t know how kissable the blonde was.   
He stands up straight and starts walking back. He reaches the common room. Draco’s not there.   
He checks their dorm.   
Not there. He sighs and sits down on Draco’s bed. He reaches for a picture of him and his parents.   
The door slams open. Draco stands in the doorway. Harry stares at him.   
He looks intimidating.  
“Why the fuck did you run off?” he snaps.  
Harry sighs. Hesitates to respond.   
“I was startled,” he admits. Draco is glaring daggers at him.   
He steps closer to Harry, letting the door shut behind him.   
Harry slides farther away from him.  
“No apology?” Draco says coldly.   
“Look, I’m sorry, okay?!” Harry stares at him. Trying to stand firm.   
The frown slides of Draco’s face. “I looked for you!” Harry says desperately.   
Draco sits next to him. Harry looks away.   
A thumb reaches up to caress Harry’s cheek.   
Harry startles and looks at Draco. “Stop,” he says weakly.   
Draco has a glint in his eye. “Stop trying to make me not mad at you,” Harry continues. “You were rude too.”   
Draco kisses him. Harry squeaks in shock. He pulls away. “Seriously, stop. I don’t want that now.” he mumbles. Draco stands up.  
“Fine.” he leaves the room, slamming the door behind him.   
Harry is left sitting on the bed, his face in his hands. “Shit. fuck. Shitfuck.” he mutters. “I fucking messed up. Shit.” 

………………

Draco goes to the quidditch pitch. He mounts a broom and flies into the sky, his hair blowing behind him in the wind. “Fucking. Potter,” he mumbles. “Oblivious jerk.”   
Draco loops around the pitch a few times. It feels nice. 

An hour later, he dismounts.   
He walks back into the castle only to be stopped by the same Ravenclaws.   
He sighs. They are standing aggressively. “What do you want?” he asks carelessly.   
The Ravenclaw is glaring at him. “You in Azkaban with your father.”   
Draco puts his hands on his hips. “Me too.” he snarls.   
They looks startled.   
Draco is caught by surprise as a fist contacts his face. He’s knocked to the ground.   
“Faggot,” someone snaps. A wand is pointed at his throat. Draco’s eyes widen.  
He doesn’t like this.   
“Stop,” he rasps. The figure above him cackles. “Petrificus Totalus!”.  
Draco’s arms are pinned to his side. He can’t talk.   
The wand is trembling. Draco is panicking.   
“STOP!”   
The voice rings out from behind Draco. The blonde is shocked.   
It’s Blaise. The wand is lifted from his throat. “Finite!” Draco is released. He stands up, running a hand through his dishevelled hair.   
The Ravenclaws are gone. Blaise turns to Draco. “You alright?”   
“No,” Draco admits. Blaise sighs. “Yeah, I figured.”   
Draco looks at his feet. “I’m going back to the dorm.” He stands stiffly. A bruise is forming on his cheek. “Okay.”   
Draco turns and runs back. He collapses on his dorm bed and falls into an uneasy sleep. At least he’s safe now. 

……………………………….

Harry enters the dorm. Draco is screaming and whimpering in his sleep.   
Harry’s eyes widen. He staggers over to the bed and shakes Draco roughly. “Wake up, arsehole,” he yells. Draco’s eyes snap open.   
Harry walks back to his bed and falls asleep once his head hits the pillow, leaving Draco to panic by himself.   
It takes the blonde an hour to fall back asleep.

 

……………………..

Draco wakes up with Harry standing above him aggressively. “Potter-”  
Harry shuts him up by kissing him roughly. He pulls away. “It’s been too long.”   
Draco kisses him, craving his touch. “I agree.”   
Harry smiles against Draco’s lips, falling next to him.

They miss breakfast and their first class.


End file.
